As the owner of a rusty 1985 pickup with manual windows and no radio, I can tell you there is great demand for utility pickup trucks that the manufacturers WILL NOT MAKE.
The first problem is CAFE rules. Congress legislated the light pickup truck out of existence. To get around CAFE rules, manufacturers increased the size of trucks and added a back row so they could be reclassified in a way that skirted CAFE rules.
However, there's a big demand for pickups, so people bought these because they needed trucks, and nothing else was available. Manufacturers took advantage of demand and started adding features normal pickup drivers didn't want or need, to access a high-market class of buyers. "Where else are you gonna go?"
$100k pickups, here we are.
Manufacturers are in no hurry to go back to the low-margin pickup days, even though that is what classic pickup buyers actually want.
I think the problem is that non-divergent people really cannot comprehend an inability to perceive non-verbal communication. Nonverbal communication is like breathing, or eating - it's something that just works for them; they don't have to think about it. It's scary and weird to them when they meet people that can't do it.
Then there are those of us for whom social situations are a 3-billion-line case/esac statement.
case situation in
shesmiledandlaughedafterthejoke)
shelikedthejoke()
;;
shesmiledandlaughedafterthejokebutlookedsideways)
shesboredanddidntlikethejoke()
;;
thejokewasfunnyoncesoitmustbefunnyeverytimeeven200times)
crashandburn()
;;
etc)
;;
esac
people just see what, to them, is obnoxious or boorish behavior. So, divergent people must first understand that they are divergent and what that means, and then they must try to put themselves in the shoes of the people they interact with. Is it fair? Life isn't fair - but you either want to fit in and interact reasonably, or you don't.
Somehow, I managed to get married. My wife helped me understand what I was missing - it was like gaining eyesight after never having it or even understanding eyesight was a thing people had.
Yes, many people lack empathy. That is no excuse for you (or me!) to learn and use empathy.
it’s not just “creators”, our news cycle depends on this.
algorithm-driven social media amplifies this nonsense. I had to cut myself out of all social media because I found myself unreasonably angry every day. this new cycle and social media cycle was literally poisoning my life.
it’s not like we didn’t have negative news or negative stories or flame bait back in the days of usenet, but it was easier to escape. Now, with all the TikTok and Twitter/X and Facebook embeds, it’s not only impossible to escape, it literally follows you around now.
I would argue that Windows 2000 was the last decent version of Windows. Fast, non-bloated, ran DirectX and games better than Windows 98 ever did, and as stable an operating system as I'd ever run.
win2k was my favorite. had a slipstream install with games i grinded and nothing else and it was the fastest desktop experience i've ever experienced to this day
And yet, Win98 (or ME if you consider that a working OS) was the last OS where there was no "system" account with higher privileges than the user. Win2000 was the first OS that gave me the "access denied" message.
I'm still looking for a desktop OS where user logs in as root/system and all the programs and services run as limited accounts.
I recall it booting more slowly than 98 or ME, but I don't recall it being obnoxiously bad. I do remember disabling a lot of services I didn't think I needed, though.
Back then (probably xp era) I remember quirks like needing to configure the IDE controllers so if you didn't have both connectors on the PATA cable used it would spend a ton of time trying to detect a device where there wasn't one. You needed to go into device manager and disable that connector (unless you added a drive)
It was much slower than current OSes. Windows 2000 initialized Windows Services in a serialized order which caused lengthy boot times, even for an OOTB copy.
XP changes this to a parallel + delayed service start up, but 7 and 8 really focused on boot times.
In the runup to Windows 10, Microsoft was trying to push a patch that enabled telemetry - KB2952664.
I didn't want Microsoft to poll my machine for data Microsoft would not describe to me in detail, so I uninstalled the patch and deselected it so it wouldn't re-install. I generally didn't read through the patches at the time, and and usually just let Microsoft update do it's thing, so I wasn't really in the habit of refusing Windows updates, though.
The problem with KB2952664 was that Microsoft kept re-issuing this stupid patch, which re-selected it for upgrades. This happened quite a number of times. Then, when they discovered that people kept blocking KB2952664, they re-issued the patch, again, but this time numbered KB3068708 so it wouldn't be blocked, and did in fact bypass my then-current setting that disabled automatic Windows updates.
Then, Microsoft added the telemetry, again, but this time they included it with a patch labeled as a security update: KB4507456.
Right before Windows 10 came out, Microsoft added what they called an optional prompt to allow Windows to automatically upgrade to 10. I refused the upgrade, but on launch day, came downstairs to find that Microsoft had upgraded my PC anyway, and did so clean - I lost every file on my system.
The dark patterns that Microsoft uses to trick non-computer-savvy people into using OneDrive, or non-local accounts are downright diabolical. They couch the OneDrive setup in terms like "Your computer and your data are not protected! You are at risk of lowered file and computer security. Click here to resolve these issues."
Microsoft relies on ignorance to push this absolute bullshit on unsuspecting people, and in a just world, the execs that dreamed this up would be prosecuted under RICO.
And yet, there are serious computer professionals that clearly understand what Microsoft is doing here, but continue to use Windows. Convenience trumps all, apparently.
I've been playing games on Debian Stable for many years now, and although there were some issues back when the Linux Steam client first came out, in past five or so years, I noticed that I tend to forget to even check whether a game works with Proton before buying, and I haven't had any issues playing all sorts of games.
Of course, I don't play AAA slop that's essentially rootkits with a game attached on the side, but even more reasonable AAA titles tend to work just fine.
What I'm trying to say is that this "debian stable is from previous century" confusion needs to die. They had one or two slightly longer periods between two stable releases, many years in the past, but that seems to be all people remember.
A few games I've tried required a little fiddling to work correctly. Some of these, like Dark Souls, required me to get a Windows patcher to run in linux to patch a windows binary, which required me to launch the patcher from Proton in Steam, and know where Steam installed the game. Not straightforward at all, but it can be done. I would not call it an experience for the average Windows gamer.
Some of the latest shooters, will get you banned because anti-cheat.
That said, there's nothing in my library (180 games!) that doesn't run in Linux, and I have a number of games that you can't even get to run in Windows at all anymore.
I think the gaming community should all send Gabe Newell a Valentines Day card, or maybe a Christmas gift, or something. Seriously, the man has done so much for gaming, think of where we'd be without him. Windows App Store, Sony Game Store, walled gardens...
Source: Had LASIK in 1999. Severe myopia and astigmatism, corrected to 20/10 and 20/15 (right and left eye).
My night vision was definitely worse after the surgery, but improved over a year or two. I still get blurry when my eyes are dry and tired, but otherwise remain glasses-free at 50+.
That's when I had my eyes done but not for astigmatism. Have you noticed your eyes getting drier lately? Mine started a couple of years ago and it's somewhat of an issue now having to keep drops around.
Thanks, @dang! keep up the good work.
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